


these are the hands of fate (you're my achilles heel)

by lgbtqshipper



Series: Stargirl Ficlets [5]
Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Ficlet, Hurt No Comfort, Lesbian Courtney Whitmore, cameron is also evil in this one whoops, jordan is kinda a matchmaker but also kinda just straight-up evil if you know what i mean?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25382908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lgbtqshipper/pseuds/lgbtqshipper
Summary: Cindy stops struggling, looking between both of them with absolute bewilderment. "What are you saying?""You know, for a bright girl, you really seem to be having a lot of trouble connecting the dots on this one," Icicle muses, clearly entertained, before turning his attention back to Courtney. "Would you like to do the honors of explaining this one, or shall I?"Starshiv + "What happens if I do this?"
Relationships: Cindy Burman/Courtney Whitmore
Series: Stargirl Ficlets [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834453
Comments: 13
Kudos: 63





	these are the hands of fate (you're my achilles heel)

**Author's Note:**

> [here](https://cindyburman.tumblr.com/post/623834364986392576/50-dialogue-prompts) is the list of dialogue prompts this is from!! this one is #46 for starshiv, and i've also done #50 for starcat, #13 and #32 for starsquad, #48 for stashiv, and #9 for hournite and starcat. requests are closed for now as i catch up on all of the prompts that have been submitted to me!!
> 
> the title is from "state of grace" by taylor swift.

When Courtney runs out of the hallway where her friends are fighting the rest of the ISA and into the lair's meeting room, her first thought is,  _ What? _

And then, when she's made sure that she's not hallucinating, that this is  _ real, _ it's...  _ What?!? _

Because standing across from her, holding a hostage in a headlock, is Icicle--but that's not the shocking part; she almost expected it, actually. What surprises Courtney is that his hostage is none other than  _ Cindy Burman. _

"What the hell is going on?" Courtney finally asks,  _ beyond _ confused.

"Why the fuck would I know?" Cindy practically growls, struggling against Jordan's hold. "I'm on  _ your side, _ you stupid Smurf!"

"Sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the good of the cause," Icicle says calmly, as if it’s just a normal day in the office and not the biggest showdown on this Earth since the  _ old _ JSA was alive. "Joey Zarick's death, for example, was needed to test William's loyalty to the cause."

"You killed  _ Joey?!" _ Cindy sounds legitimately outraged.

"You liked Joey?" Courtney asks her, even more puzzled than before.

"Everyone liked Joey," she replies, a flicker of emotion crossing her face before she goes back to being angry. "I said let me  _ go, _ you icy asshole!!"

"Enough!" Jordan snaps, his patience suddenly beginning to fray. "You _will_ stand down, or I'll kill her." Following this ultimatum, the room suddenly becomes so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"I hate to ruin this for you, but I think you picked the wrong captive," Cindy sneers. "Go pick someone she's  _ actually _ friends with, maybe? Or even just someone who  _ hasn't _ tried to murder her before. I don't think she's going to care whether or not I die."

A sinister smile spreads across Icicle's face, and Courtney's heart leaps into her throat.  _ He doesn't know... right? _

"I wouldn't be so sure, Cindy," Icicle says. "Solely on the surface level, I doubt Courtney would want anyone else's blood to be on her hands." Courtney's blood goes cold when she hears her name come out of Jordan's mouth, and she immediately looks to Cindy to see if she was the one who told him. Cindy seems just as shocked as she is, which is a small comfort.

"How do you know who I am?" Courtney asks him, her voice shaking slightly in fear despite her best attempts to stay brave. After all, the last time a member of the ISA had learned her secret identity, he had threatened to kill her mom.

"Oh, Courtney." Icicle chuckles patronizingly. "Did you really think that Cameron, my own  _ son _ , was just oblivious to what I was doing?" Courtney's eyes go wide.  _ Holy shit, Cameron. _ She thinks back to the secrets she told him, all the times she confided in him, everything the person she thought was her friend must have gone and told directly to her worst enemy, and she feels queasy.

"Of course, Cindy, this is also very personal," Icicle continues, a cruel, knowing glint in his eye. "After I learned that Courtney is Stargirl, I was thinking of kidnapping her mother to use as leverage. However, that would have required more planning and a cover-up, so I figured... Why go through all that trouble when I already had someone at the ISA who she  _ loves?" _ Trembling slightly, Courtney remembers a specific conversation that she had with Cameron and  _ knows _ that it's what Jordan is referencing.  _ God, how could I have been so stupid? _

Cindy stops struggling, looking between both of them with absolute bewilderment. "What are you saying?"

"You know, for a bright girl, you really seem to be having a lot of trouble connecting the dots on this one," Icicle muses, clearly entertained, before turning his attention back to Courtney. "Would you like to do the honors of explaining this one, or shall I?"

Courtney levels a glare harsh enough to make flowers wilt at Jordan, wishing more than anything that she could rewind time and never befriend Cameron in the first place, before reluctantly turning to Cindy.

"After the homecoming debacle, Cameron asked me if I would go to a different dance with him later in the school year," she begins,  _ hating _ that this is how she's telling Cindy. Her only consolation is that at least _she_ gets to tell it, not Cameron or Jordan or anyone else. "I said no, and I admitted that I hadn't actually wanted to go to hoco with him either, I just... didn't want him to feel bad. I believed that I could trust him, so I told him that, well... I'm gay. He asked me if I liked any girls at Blue Valley, and at the time I thought he was just trying to be supportive, so I told him... your name." Courtney sees Cindy's eyes widen at this admission, but she panics and bulldozes on, not willing (or perhaps just not  _ wanting _ ) to hear her reaction yet.

"And yeah, I don't get it either. Even by then, you had already tried to kill me multiple times and would have succeeded if it weren't for other people interfering. I can't explain  _ why  _ I have feelings for you, just that I _do_." Tired, beaten down, and oh-so-miserable, she looks over to Icicle, who looks far too pleased with himself, and says, "What happens if I do this? If I surrender to you."

"Cindy will be free to go, as will your other friends," he informs her.

"Wait, you can't be seriously considering this!" Cindy finally speaks up, and Courtney's head twists toward her in surprise.  _ Cindy would rather  _ she _ die than me? _

"I'm into you, too," Cindy confesses suddenly, sounding open and vulnerable. "I thought you knew and just didn't like me like that!"

"What?" Courtney's voice rises an octave.  _ This has to be a dream. There's no way this is real. _ "How would I have  _ known?" _

"I kept on trying to recruit you for cheerleading, I asked you over to my house instead of going to homecoming, I was upset when you said you were going to the dance with Cameron," Cindy lists, incredulous. "Hell, I brought balloons and chocolate to your house, sat on your bed, and basically told you that I wanted us to be on the same team!"

"That was you  _ flirting?" _ Courtney says disbelievingly.

"Stop talking!" Icicle's voice booms out, more restless than ever. "Make your decision or else I'll kill her right now!"

Faced with this horrible ultimatum: either sacrifice her own life to save Cindy and her friends (because she knows deep down that she _will_ be killed once the ISA gets whatever they need from her, no matter what Jordan says) or let Cindy die for her and the rest of the JSA when they might not even win anyway, Courtney takes a deep breath, looks directly into Cindy’s eyes, and  _ chooses. _

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, i know, i hate myself for the cliffhanger too :) but if it's any consolation, i might come back and write a second part to this after i finish all the other prompts. emphasis on "might" bc i'm realizing that i did this for quite a few of my other prompts already lmao. 
> 
> here's my [tumblr](https://cindyburman.tumblr.com) if you'd like to check it out for more of me being in love w the women of stargirl!!
> 
> and as always, here's the link to the [blm carrd](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/)!!! please do what you can, even if it's just signing petitions!!!


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